Method and system for real-time manipulation of merchandise layout and data collection

ABSTRACT

A graphics data form includes an information processing system having a generator for generating graphics images, each image comprising a recognizable representation of at least one real-life object. The GDF also includes a selector for selecting an image by a user of the system; a receiver for receiving information from the user; an associator for associating the information received with the selected image; a real time processor for manipulating how the image is presented; and a real time processor for processing data associated with the selected image responsive to manipulation of the selected image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates, in general, to the field of data collection andcontrol and more particularly to a method and apparatus for graphicallycollecting and managing data using a graphics form.

2. Description of the Related Art

Collection of various types of data is a problem familiar to personsmarketing or distributing products. Typically the delivery personnelassigned to distribution routes inspect inventory distributed across thevarious retail locations. During a stop at a specific retail locationthe delivery person often needs to accomplish several tasks. One task isthe counting and tallying of goods at the retail location. A second taskis the verification of prices on the inventory. Quite often, marketingpromotions, promotional sales, product shelf life and other marketconditions require the changing of pricing on the inventory at a retaillocation. For locations where there are many different packageconfigurations -styles, sizes and containers -for a family of productsthe field inventory is even more difficult. It is easy for the deliverypersonnel to make inventory mistakes when tallying a variety of productfamilies. It would be understandable, for example, to mistakeinadvertently "family size" items on a shelf adjacent to "king size"items.

In the beverage industry, the number and styles of packingconfigurations can be large. For example, the Budweiser family of beers,produced by single producer Anheuser-Busch, is available in numerouspacking configurations. Budweiser is generally available in differentcontainer types, i.e., both bottles and cans, available in differentcontainer sizes, e.g., 12 ounces, quarts, 32 ounces, 64 ounces, andavailable in different packaging groupings, i.e., six-packs,twelve-packs, twenty-four-packs or cases. Many times the price changeeffects only one of the packing types. Returning to the beer example,the price on twelve-packs may be reduced while the prices for othersizes remain the same. Therefore, the difficulty spent tallying andtracking pricing for a variety of packing styles can be great.

Another difficulty for delivery personnel is having to match the correctpacking style with the corresponding numeric or symbolic codes. Thesenumeric or symbolic codes are often printed on specific inventory forms,data sheets, spreadsheet formats or displayed on hand-held terminalswith the product description listed adjacent to the inventory level inan abbreviated format. In the Budweiser example, the abbreviation mightread "Bud 6 pack cans." Because the packing configurations are sometimeseasily confused, even with the abbreviated description, the tallying ofproduct data is conducive to errors.

Another difficulty for delivery personnel is the maximization of retailshelf space at specific retail locations. It is common for many retaillocations to limit the available shelf space dedicated to thedistributor's product. Often the delivery personnel needs to rearrangeitems in the defined area because of promotional sales or theintroduction of new packing configurations. The delivery personnel willmanually move inventory around on the shelves to accomplish the desiredre-shelving without being certain that all the items will fit in adesired configuration. In the case of beer, if the defined area or morecorrectly the allotted space is a refrigerated display cabinet, thenumber of packing configurations, such as a six pack 12 ounce canconfiguration, that can fit on a shelf area may not be known withouttrial and error. This can be tedious and time-consuming and may notenable the distributor to maximize the use of shelf area.

Still, another difficulty arises when the distributors hire personnel tostock and inventory the items on a route. The time to train thepersonnel to be familiar with lists of products from a particularmanufacturer, all the packing styles offered by the manufacturer,understanding the shelf rotation for product freshness, and the specificconfigurations at each retail location can be lengthy. In addition, thedelivery personnel are usually required to record the current inventorylevels for a variety of packing configurations. This creates the highlikelihood of transcription errors when the delivery personnel isrequired to write down inventory information on a ledger or required toenter information with a hand-held electronic computer. Deliverypersonnel relying on lists of product packaging styles often lead toselection and input mistakes. As result, the time invested bydistributor to train personnel can be great.

The costs for product data collection and management and inventorycontrol can be great given the time spent, the associated cost of payingpersonnel to collect relevant data, and the difficulty with trackingmany packing configurations for a given family of products. Therefore,there exists a need for a method and apparatus to provide a graphicsdata form.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, according to the invention, an information processing systemcomprises generating means for generating graphics images; means forselecting an image by a user of the system; means for receivinginformation from the user; associating means for associating theinformation received with the selected image; real time processing meansfor manipulating how the image is presented; and real time processingmeans for processing data associated with the selected image responsiveto manipulation of the selected image. Each image comprises arecognizable representation of at least one real-life object.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the major electrical components of acomputer system used in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tablet style computer including thecomponents of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a representative screen displaying a graphics data formaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 4. Shows various data arrays according to the present invention.

FIG. 5. shows an image array comprising data associated with productimages.

FIG. 6. Illustrates the concept of spatial definition for a graphicsdata form.

FIG. 7 is a screen illustrating another embodiment of a graphics dataform using a sub-window.

FIG. 8 is a screen illustrating another embodiment of a graphics dataform using a sub-window illustrating a disparate product subgroup (2high by 3 wide) of the graphical data form according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a screen illustrating the sub-window in FIG. 8 re-shelved backonto the graphical data form according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram illustrating themajor electrical components of a computer system 10 for use inaccordance with this invention. When programmed and configured toperform as a graphics data form, the computer system 10 is used tocollect and process data in a powerful and user-friendly manner. Theelectrical components include: a central processing unit (CPU) 21, anInput/Output (I/O) Controller 23, a system power and clock source 25;display subsystem 29 comprising a multiplexer (MUX) 27 and a liquidcrystal display (LCD) 28; and a hard drive 43. Other components mayinclude a RAM 31, ROM 33 and an ASIC 35 that can be specificallydesigned to operate in accordance with the invention. Equivalently, theASIC 35 can be replaced by an application program (loaded into storage43 or embedded in ROM 33). Optional components for interfacing toexternal peripherals or networks include: a Small Computer SystemsInterface (SCSI) port 53; a PCMCIA slot 55; and a serial port 57 forattaching peripherals. An optional diskette drive 41 is shown forloading or saving code to removable diskettes. As is the case, in manydata-processing products, the system 10 may be implemented as acombination of hardware and software components. Moreover, thefunctionality required for using the invention may be embodied incomputer-readable media (such as 3.5 inch diskettes) to be used inprogramming an information-processing apparatus (e.g., a personalcomputer comprising the elements shown in FIG. 1) to perform inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tablet style computer 200 includingsome or all of the components of FIG. 1. The portability of suchcomputers makes them ideally suited for implementations of the presentinvention. The tablet computer 200 comprises a display 210, a brightnessadjuster 220, an On/Off switch 221, an audio speaker 223, a serialinterface 225 such as a 9-pin connector, and a PCMCIA slot 229. Thedisplay may be monochrome or color, and a pointing device (not shown)such as pen, mouse, track point or a touch screen that is suitable forcursor manipulation may be used.

The tablet style computer 200 can run any commercially availableoperating system such as DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows CE, Windows 95 orother suitable operating system. The operating system used can includesupport for a database, such as Oracle DB/2, Microsoft Excel, LotusApproach, Corel Paradox or other formats that can support typical datacollection application such as those in product or inventory relatedfields (e.g., item, quantity, costs, stock, shelf life, delivery route,delivery truck, delivery date, delivery location.) The system can beparticularly useful for entering data that does not continuously change,such as the location of a particular product in supermarket shelves. Thepresent invention can be advantageously implemented as an applicationprogram for a portable computer system. Such an application program canbe written using a variety of programming languages including VisualBasic, C/C++, assembler or any other commercially-available programmingtools.

FIG. 3 shows a screen including a representative graphical userinterface (GUI) 300 comprising a graphics data form (GDF) according tothe present invention. The GDF can be implemented as an object for usein an application program (e.g., a Windows application). It isapplicable to any system wherein a user needs to collect and/or processdata relating to real-life subjects (or items). In accordance with theinvention, the GDF object allows the user to collect or process the datain real-time by means of manipulating certain pictures or imagesappearing on the screen 300.

Consider as an example, an object (called a VirtualCooler) representinga common supermarket cooler for storing various packages of beerproducts. The VirtualCooler includes a portion 302 that represents atypical supermarket cooler for displaying beer products for sale. Forpurposes of illustration, assume that items A1-A5 and B1-B5 representvarious packages for the beer products. Virtual products (i.e.,representations of real life objects such as beer packages) A1-A5 arearranged on a virtual shelf 304 and B1-B5 are shown arranged on avirtual shelf 306 in a virtual cooler display 302. These products can becans, bottles, cases, or other products typically displayed or stored onshelves. A user selects any image by pointing and clicking or othermeans. The selected image can then be manipulated by dragging anddropping it next to or on top of another. These manipulations affect thedata associated with the selected image. Moreover, a user can use any ofvarious means for entering or modifying data on the selected image.

The kind of data entered could be any product attributes, such as price,quantity in stock, size of package, market location. These data can bebroken down to logistic data (e.g., orders, replenishment or accounting)and non-logistical (all information that is not logistic).

The data collected and processed using the GDF can be stored in storagewithin the host system (an internal data structure) or remote from thehost (an external data structure such as a central mass storage device).Thus in the case of the pen driven system 200 the data could be storedin the system hard disk or it could be transmitted (e.g., by modem) to aremote storage system such as a server.

The screen 300 comprises various means for data entry or processing by auser. These include a keypad 308 and associated alphanumeric characterdisplay 310. The screen 300 also includes typical windows buttons 312; aCUSTOMER field display 311 for identifying the customer with a numberentered below; a ROUTE field display 313 for identifying the route; aDELIVERY DATE pull down list box 315 for entering and showing thedelivery date; a VIEW pull down list box 317 for selecting anddisplaying the data category; and a VIEW DATA pull down list box 319 forselecting and showing data related to the data category shown underVIEW.

Accordingly, when a user selects an image (e.g., A3), by touching thescreen over the image A3 or pointing at it with a pen, the systemassociates the real life item represented by that image with the dataassociated with that image A3. Each row represents a product shelf atthe retail location. The top-most shelf, depicted as row 304, containslifelike graphical image representations or "virtual products" ofvarious product beer packing configurations A1, A2, A3, A4, A5. In thisexample, the images on row 304 each represent a type of package of BrandA Beer. A1 is the graphical image representation for a 6 pack of 8 ounce"nips" bottles. A2 is the graphical image representation for a packingstyle for a six pack of 12 ounce bottles. A3 is the graphical imagerepresentation for a 6 pack of 12 ounce cans. A4 is the graphical imagerepresentation for a 12 pack of 12 ounce cans. Images along row 306 aregraphical image representations of Brand A Beer Light Products indifferent packing styles B1, B2, B3, B4, B5. The images along row 304represent different package styles of Brand A Ice Beer Products. Thesubsequent rows C-E represent additional virtual shelves for holdingadditional virtual products. As mentioned above, a great advantage ofthe invention is the ability to collect or process data in a real timefashion by image manipulation. This is made possible by the followingfunctionality.

MANIPULATION OF GRAPHICS IN REAL TIME

In order to maximize the speed of the system, the images representingproduct packages are reproduced to scale. Commonly, images (e.g.,Windows or Macintosh icons) displayed on computer screens are notproduced to scale, meaning that two packages that are in real life thesame size can be (and often are) different sizes in image data. Inaccordance with one aspect of the invention, conventional images arescaled to represent the real life subjects they represent. For example,the images can be stored on a diskette, which is loaded into the memoryof the pen computer 200 for display to a user. For purposes ofillustration, the memory of the computer can be divided into threedifferent locations in order to run the VirtualCooler system. Oneportion of the computer's memory is called the Temporary Image Holder.This portion of the memory provides temporary storage of image datawhich is obtained from an outside storage medium (e.g., a diskette).Another portion of the computer's memory is devoted to the storage ofproduct and aspect data (which will be defined below). Still anotherportion of the memory of the computer is devoted to the display of theimages in the VirtualCooler Image Holder. The VirtualCooler programdetermines which images are to be displayed by looking at both productand aspect data. Product data represents various data points, orcategories of data. The quantity stored with respect to a data point iscalled a value. Each data point is in turn linked to an image. It isimportant to note that alternate views of the same product (such as atop or side view) are different images, and as such have different linksin the product and different aspect data. The process of linking imagesto be displayed to a given piece of data is an example of what makesVirtualCooler a data-driven program.

In addition to determining which image to display, VirtualCooler mustalso determine the location in which to display the image. This isbecause the images that appear in the visual display are in factmultiple images (e.g., each beer package) placed upon a given image(e.g., that of a shelf, as opposed to one complete image (picture). Thelocation in which each image is to be displayed is contained in theaspect data. Therefore, the product data determines the image to bedisplayed, while the aspect data determines the location of the image.Once the image and its location have been determined, the computertransfers the image into the Temporary Image Holder, and merges theimage into the VirtualCooler Image Holder. This process is repeatedmultiple times in order to compose each visual display that appears onscreen.

SCROLLING

Two different items enable the user to move about the visual displaythat appears on screen in the VirtualCooler. Both the cut and pastefeature and the information contained in the aspect data enable the userto move around the visual displays contained in VirtualCooler in avirtually seamless manner by moving the images in a real time format.

In order to understand how this is accomplished, it is helpful tounderstand the "image within an image" concept used in the GDF discussedabove. In very simple terms, each product image that appears on screenis an image within an image, with its own designated location in thelarger image (in this case, the shelf. In addition, the larger image(the shelf or shelves) is in fact an image which is larger than the oneappearing on screen. Just like the smaller images, the larger image haslocation coordinates that correspond to the size of the screen. Thus,the image that appears on screen is in fact a portion of a large image(the shelf) that contains several smaller images (the products). Theprogram code contained in the VirtualCooler system indicates whatportion of the larger image is to be displayed on screen, which in turndictates the smaller images to be displayed. When scrolling through thedisplay, the user is changing the location coordinates to be displayed.The program responds to this by changing the display, using the newlyselected coordinates.

The new image is then displayed in a real time format, thus allowing theuser to view the new image almost instantly. This is accomplishedthrough two operations, each of which occurs almost instantly. First,the portion of the old display that is repeated in the new display ismoved to its new location through the use of a "cut & paste" feature ofthe system. Second, the new portion of the image is then determined bythe location coordinates imbedded in the program, and is displayedaccordingly. By combining both operations, VirtualCooler is able todisplay a different visual image in a real time format. For example, auser can select an image, drag it to another position next to or on topof another image and that information is automatically captured by thesystem.

MANIPULATION OF IMAGES

Another important feature of the VirtualCooler system is the ability tomanipulate a display by stacking images of products on top of oneanother or placing images of additional products in a display side byside. In response to this image manipulation, the data associated withthe manipulated image changes. This is also accomplished in a real timeformat. Once again, the key to the ability of the VirtualCooler systemto perform this operation in a real time format is the "image on image"concept. Manipulation of images is accomplished by repeated display of agiven image. In order to create a display representing a 2×2 arrangementof packages, the program simply repeats the display in multiplelocations, which are then placed next to one another. The images arethen placed back into the larger image (the shelf), and the remainingobjects are moved in order to allow the new image to be displayed.Displays that use alternate views of a product operate in much the sameway. Each alternate view is a separate image, with its own aspect data.By linking the images together, the user dictates the location of thenew image, just as if it were a repeated image. The manipulated image isthen placed back into the display, and other images are moved to makeroom. In summary, because the screen display is not a static image, butin fact several small images on top of a larger image, only the smallerimage is manipulated, thus allowing for increased speed.

PRODUCT INTERACTION

The VirtualCooler system also allows the user to interact with theimages displayed in the visual display. Because the system is datadriven, this interaction not only allows the user to interact with theimage, but also with the data connected to it. This is accomplishedthrough the selection of images within the visual display. In order toselect an image to work with, the user may point to a location on thescreen. The VirtualCooler system then determines which product has beenselected by the user using various mathematical equations to determinethe image nearest the point selected by the user. Once an image has beenselected, the user is able to input data regarding that image into thesystem. Because the system is data driven, a user may also select agiven image by entering a numeric link into the system. TheVirtualCooler system receives the data entered by the user, analyzes it,and selects the product associated with the code entered by the user.

It should also be noted, that the graphical representation for eachproduct configuration is lifelike in appearance, thus making it easy tomatch real product configurations at a retail location with those withinthe VirtualCooler. Stated differently, the virtual products placed alonglocations on the different rows, create the visual impression of avirtual cooler where virtual products are arranged on a virtual shelf.Thus, the items resemble a real life arrangement of beer packages on acooler. Typically the real-life virtual package is a bitmap imagecreated from a photograph of the desired product in the desired packingconfiguration in a well know manner. Any lifelike image for a newproduct can be edited, deleted and added to accommodate changes inproduct packaging and configurations for retail outlets at a later time.

Suppose the user wants to add a new package style for a specific retaillocation. A new virtual package for the desired style is loaded throughan external interface, such as a SCSI port 53, PCMCIA slot 55, serialport 57, or diskette drive 41, connected with an external source such asdisk, diskette, network, CD or any other computer readable medium. Oncethe virtual package is loaded locally, the association with a datastorage location is made for the inventory fields including the itemquantity, cost, price, shelf life, route, store, and other typicalinventory related data. The association to the data storage location isimportant because each virtual package at a particular retail locationon a particular route must be associated with the corresponding productdata entries. This association ensures that as the virtual package ismoved within the 2-dimensional space shown in the screen to a differentlocation on a shelf or even to a different shelf, the exact associationbetween the virtual package and the corresponding item in the inventorydata base is maintained.

FIG. 4 shows a set of data arrays (400, 420, and 450) used for possibleimplementation of the present invention. In these arrays the number ofrows and the number of columns for each of these four data arrays arerelated. Each array comprises a set of columns, each corresponding aproduct or image representing the product. These Arrays are all internaldata structures.

Product Array 400 comprises product data array elements. Global productinformation is product data that does not change from instance toinstance (e.g., from store to store). This includes, for example, dataon pricing, description, and Universal Price Codes (UPCs). In thisexample, the Product Array 400 comprises a set of rows, each containingdata relating to a description or attribute of a product. Each columnrepresents one product and six product data attributes 405 (one for eachrow). The product attributes comprise Product Code 407, Description 409,UPC 411, Family 413, Type 415 and Price 417. Code 407 is an uniqueidentifier for each product contained in a product list. Description 409is a packing unit description, in this beverage example, this identifieris typically a can or bottle. UPC 411 is the retail bar code number.Type 415 is the retail family brand, e.g., Brand A for a beer family ofproducts (e.g. Budweiser), Brand B for a light beer family of products(e.g., Budweiser Light) and Brand X for a family of soft drinks. Price417 is the retail price for the product. These product array dataelements 405 are representative of a beverage product example but theelements can easily be modified and expanded to handle other types ofproducts such as snack foods, magazines and periodicals or any othersuch item. This is data that could be specific to a particular customersuch as a Publix supermarket that sells the subject products.

Product Value Array 420 comprises a set of rows, each containing datarelating to a datapoint. Each column represents one product and sixdatapoints. In this example, the Product Value datapoints are Data PointA 421--Data Point F 426. A datapoint could be any product attribute,such as price, quantity in stock, size of package, market location. Adatapoint can be broken down to logistic data (e.g., orders,replenishment or accounting) and non-logistical (all information that isnot logistic).

Product aspect array 450 comprises columns A1-A5 representing the beerproducts of this example. Product aspect data is data required todisplay the graphics representation text information. It is used tocreate images such as those shown in the screen 300. The row labeled"Aspect" contains a comma-delineated string which contains aspectinformation relating to the location of the image representing thesubject product.

The first set of data (here 18200\0001 1.1) represent the image file forthe product (which is made up of the product's full UPC number), nexttwo numbers (1,1) represent the number of times the image is repeated inthe display (high & wide). The last number represents the product'ssectional definition for use in the spatial definition of theVirtualCooler. This number is used to create space between products inthe VirtualCooler.

Rows 2 and 3 ("Row" and "Col") indicate the relative positioning inwhich an image is to be displayed. Thus, image A1 is located on col. 1and row. 1 (see FIG. 3). The precise position of the image is a functionof the size of the product image to the left of the product image beingdisplayed, the size of the product images above the product image beingdisplayed, and any spatial definition given to the data point.

The next two rows (Center Point X and Y) indicate the center points ofthe image relative to the larger display image file.

The rows labeled "Top" and "Left" indicate the starting point from whichthe product image will be placed into the visual display. These indicatea displacement from a starting point, representing the image.

The last two rows ("High" and "Wide") indicate the height and width ofthe total product image, which varies according to the number of imagesrepeated for a given product display. The units used in rows 4-9 areimage units. Depending on the scale chosen (e.g., 12 image units perinch), the size of the real life object represented can be determined.The image units shown in rows 6-9 represent displacements relative toreference (Center) points rather than absolute locations. Array 450works in conjunction with arrays 400 and 420.

Thus, Product Aspect Array 450 comprises information needed for theassociation between the lifelike graphical images and the instance ofproduct data located in the Product Value Array 420 and the productattributes located in the Product Value Array 420.

FIG. 5 shows an image array comprising the images associated with theproducts of the other arrays. This image array 500 is useful forimproving the speed of manipulating the images because the data storedtherein can be easily manipulated without having to re-create a bitmaprepresenting the screen display. Thus, below the array 500 is shown acomma-delineated string of data for image A1. The ImageFile 502identifies the name of the image file located in a memory storagedevice. The High 504 and Wide 506 elements indicate, respectively, theheight and width of the subject image (A1).

Therefore, referring back to FIG. 4, in the Product Aspect Array 450,the row named Aspect contains the comma delimited string(18200\00011.1,1,1,1.0) where 18200\00011.1 is the name of the imagefile located in the Image Array 500. The next element in the Aspect rowis the number of times the image is repeated high. The final element inthe comma delimited Aspect row is information needed if a spacialdefinition (discussed below) is applicable to the selected data point.This data is used to determine the section (1) this product is locatedin along with blank spacing (0.0) that could precede the image of theproduct.

In the preferred embodiment, the present invention enables the user toselect between different views of data. Referring again to FIG. 3, thereis shown a product value view where the value of each virtual product isdisplayed underneath it. For the top most row 304 a value is shown foreach virtual product. These values represent the number of theassociated package actually in the cooler. Other values can be shown inthis manner (as selected by the user).

To manipulate the virtual products (i.e., the images), the user simply"drags and drops" the virtual products to the desired location on thevirtual self. All the stored product information is associated with thevirtual product image. The number of virtual products that can fit on ashelf can be increased or decreased by changing the width of each shelf(i.e., width of the row). The number of rows can be increased ordecreased and be scrolled vertically by elevator bar 371.

The virtual product images can be any picture readily recognized by anaverage person as being associated with the real-life item to which itcorresponds. However, in the preferred embodiment, the images areactually digitized pictures of the products they represent. It is alsopreferred that the images on the display are a scaled representation ofthe product represented. For example, if the product represented is asix pack of beer, it is important that the image is a scaledrepresentation because that allows a user to determine the number ofproducts that fit within a cooler or display shelf in which the productis to be arranged. These advantages can be realized by either havingpictures of the real-life product or easily recognizable images. Anadvantage associated with use of accurate pictures is that the user caneven identify the brand of the beer from the picture.

Another important aspect of the invention is the type of data that canbe stored and processed via the graphics images. These data typesinclude product attributes (any data related to the product), logisticsdata (e.g., orders, replenishment data, accounting data, andtransactional data), and non-logistical data (product information thatis not logistical, i.e. price to consumer).

Referring to FIG. 6 there is shown an illustration of the spatialdefinition concept 600. To further enhance the appearance and usabilityof the GDF, the system includes the capability to create a "SpatialDefinition" at the datapoint level. Examples of a "Spatial Definition"include, but are not limited to: the physical dimensions of a back roomstorage area; the physical dimensions of a beer or soft drink cooler orshelf; and/or the physical dimensions of a retailer's store, floorspace, etc.

The creation of a "Spatial Definition" for a datapoint within theVirtualCooler system entails the collection of information not only onthe size of a given space, but also information about the space, such as"traffic flow." The VirtualCooler program categorizes space in differentmanners (shelf space, storeroom space, display space, etc.) In buildinga "Spatial Definition" into the VirtualCooler program, each individualarea is considered to be a separate space. It is important to note thatas with the other data collection features of the program, there can bemultiple classifications of space. The manner in which space isclassified also effects the way in which it is displayed in theVirtualCooler. For example, a shelf may appear with only a bottomborder, while a cooler may contain the effect of a see-through door(meaning that a handle may appear on screen).

In FIG. 6, there is shown a store with a cabinet 602 having three (3)shelves, 604, 606, and 608 and two (2) storeroom inventory areas 610 and612. Each of the shelves as well as the two storeroom locations areconsidered a separate "space", providing a total of five spaces. Thedisplay of each space would vary according to category (meaning thatstoreroom space would look different from shelf space).

Once the number and category of each space has been determined, thebuilding of a spatial definition becomes a matter of gathering dataregarding the actual size of each space (height, width, depth). Thisinformation is then placed into the system, and a scaled visual displayon the Graphics Data Form results.

It is also important to note that while the area of space remainsconstant (unless the "Spatial Definition" is changed) the datapertaining to the products located within the defined space can and willchange. This means that while the length of a shelf will remainconstant, the number of products on the shelf as well as the product saspect, or view may change. In addition, the data associated with theproduct can and will change according to the data point selected by theuser, (i.e., three cases on Friday's inventory, one on Monday'sinventory). Although there are certain advantages in using a spatialdefinition it is also possible to implement a GDF without using one.Such an implementation has the advantage that there is greaterflexibility for the user to store virtual products in virtual storagebecause without the use of spatial definition the storage space isboundless.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a representative graphics user interfaceillustrating another embodiment of the graphical data form according tothe present invention. The virtual product A2 is selected with a mouseor pointer and a stacking window 702 is displayed. The window 702comprises a close up or exploded view of the virtual product A2 and aset of graphic command buttons 704 for manipulating the imagearrangement. The stacking window 702 allows the user to stack packagesin a given sub-window to explore other stacking arrangements on a shelf.The user can select the number of virtual products to place in thesubgroup vertically (i.e., high) and the number of packages to placehorizontally (i.e. wide).

In FIG. 8 the example illustrates a two high by three wide (i.e., 2×3)arrangement of virtual products. The user can simply choose the "Done"button on the window and the subgroup arrangement is displayed on theshelf. The subgroup can contain packaging styles from two or morepackaging configurations. Depicted is a subgroup consisting of threedistinct packaging configurations, all stacked two high and one wide(i.e., 2×1) to create a subgroup of six packages.

FIG. 9 illustrates the subgroup in FIG. 8 re-shelved back onto thegraphical data form according to the present invention. The associationbetween each image of the virtual packages in subgroup of FIG. 8 ismaintained by appending additional bitmap or image file information tothe specific row-column image data element of image array 500 in FIG. 5.For example, the second virtual package in subgroup A2 is stored inimage data element A2 along with a second bitmap's correspondinggraphical characteristics of how high and how wide is the image. Thus,the data stored in the system relating to product arrangement can bemodified by moving virtual product images to match the actualarrangement of the real-life products in the supermarket shelf. Usingthe GDF this is done quickly by keeping track in a memory of thelocation of bitmaps for each virtual product image and modifying thatinformation responsive to the arrangement (e.g., stacking one image onanother).

While the invention has been illustrated and described in the preferredembodiments, many modifications and changes therein may be affected bythose skilled in the art. The invention is generally useful for datacollection processes. It is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the precise construction disclosed herein and that the scopeof the invention is defined only by the claims appended hereto andequivalents. Accordingly, the right is reserved to all changes andmodifications coming within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing system comprising:atleast one graphics form comprising at least a two dimnensional scaledspatial definition of one or more real-life shelves to hold one or morereal-life objects; a data structure with one or more fields for holdinginformation of the one or more real-life objects including: an image ofa recognizable real-life object to be displayed; a real-life objectscaled spatial definition; and a location to display the image on theone or more real-life shelves of the graphics form; generating means forgenerating graphics images on the graphics form, each image generatedbased upon the information in the one or more fields of the datastructure; means for selecting an image by a user of the system; meansfor receiving information from the user, including information relatedto how the image of the one or more real-life objects is presented onthe one or more real-life shelves of the graphics form; and associatingmeans for associating the information received with the data structureused to generate the selected image so that any change in arrangement ofthe one or more real-life objects on the one or more real-life shelvesis reflected in the data structure to subsequently present the one ormore real-life objects on the one or more real-life shelves based on theinformation received from the user.
 2. The information processing systemof claim 1 wherein the information includes the number of times theimage for a given real-life object is to be repeated along at least onespatial dimension at a location on the graphics form, so as to representan arrangement of a collection of one type of real-life objects at alocation on the graphics form.
 3. The information processing system ofclaim 2 wherein the number of times the image is repeated is given inheight and width so as to represent a stacked collection of real-lifeobjects.
 4. The information processing system of claim 1 wherein theimage of a recognizable real-life object is a digitized picture of thereal-life object.
 5. The information processing system of claim 1,wherein the selection means includes means for selecting among aplurality of viewing angles of the graphical representation of the reallife object.
 6. The information processing system of claim 1, whereinthe graphics data form represents refrigerated retail shelf space. 7.The information processing system of claim 6 wherein the graphics formfurther includes a door with a see through portion for viewing theimages of the real-life objects therethrough.
 8. The informationprocessing system of claim 1 wherein the graphics data form representsnon-refrigerated retail shelf space.
 9. The information processingsystem of claim 1, wherein the Graphics date form represents storagespace.
 10. The information processing system of claim 1 wherein theinformation received comprises information relating to attributes ofproducts.
 11. The information processing system of claim 10, wherein theinformation received comprises business attributes of products.
 12. Theinformation processing system of claim 11, wherein the informationreceived comprises logistical business attributes of products.
 13. Theinformation processing system of claim 11, wherein the informationreceived comprises non-logistical business attributes of products.
 14. Amethod for collecting information relating to an object represented byan image, comprising the steps of:generating at least one graphics formcomprising at least a two dimensional scaled spatial definition of oneor more real-life shelves to hold one or more real-life objects;defining a data structure with one or more fields for holdinginformation of the one or more real-life objects including: an image ofa recognizable real-life object to be displayed; a real-life objectscaled spatial definition; and a location to display the image on theone or more real-life shelves of the graphics form; generating graphicsimages on the graphics form, each image generated based upon theinformation in the one or more fields of the data structure; receiving aselection of an image by a user of the method; receiving informationfrom the user, including information related to how the image of the oneor more real-life objects is presented on the one or more real-lifeshelves of the graphics form; and associating the information receivedwith the data structure used to generate the selected image so that anychange in arrangement of the one or more real-life objects on the one ormore real-life shelves is reflected in the data structure tosubsequently present the one or more real-life objects on the one ormore real-life shelves based upon in ion received from the user.
 15. Themethod of claim 14 wherein the step of defining a data structureincludes defining a data structure for holding information that includesthe number of times the image for a given real-life object is to berepeated along at least one spatial dimension at a location on thegraphics form, so as to represent an arrangement of a collection of onetype of real-life objects at a location on the graphics form.
 16. Themethod of claim 15 wherein the step of defining a data structureincludes defining a data structure where the number of times the imageis repeated is given in height and width so as to represent a stackedcollection of real-life objects.
 17. The method of claim 14 wherein thestep of defining a data structure includes defining a data structurewith one or more fields for holding information of at least onereal-life object including an image of a recognizable real-life objectthat is a digitized picture of the real-life object.
 18. The method ofclaim 14 wherein the step of generating a graphics data form includesgenerating a graphics data form representing refrigerated retail shelfspace.
 19. The method for collecting information as defined in claim 14wherein the step of generating a graphics data form includes generatinga graphics data form includes graphics data form representingnon-refrigerated retail shelf space.
 20. A computer-readable mediumincluding program instructions for:generating at least one graphics formcomprising at least a two dimensional scaled spatial definition of oneor more real-life shelves to hold one or more real-life objects;defining a data structure with one or more fields for holdinginformation of at least one real-life object including: an image of arecognizable real-life object to be displayed; a scaled real-life objectspatial definition; and a location to display the image on the graphicsform; generating graphics images on the graphics form, each imagegenerated based upon the information in the one or more fields of thedata structure; receiving a selection of an image by a user of themethod; receiving information from the user, including informationrelated to how the image of the one or more real-life objects ispresented on the one or more real-life shelves of the graphics form; andassociating the information received with the data structure used togenerate the selected image so that any change in arrangement of the oneor more real-life objects on the one or more real-life shelves isreflected in the data structure to subsequently present the one or morereal-life objects on the one or more real-life shelves based upon theinformation received from the user.
 21. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 20 wherein the programming instruction of defining a datastructure includes defining(, a data structure for holding informationthat includes the number of times the image for a given real-life objectis to be repeated along at least one spatial dimension at a location onthe graphics form, so as to represent an arrangement of a collection ofone type of real-life objects at a location on the graphics form. 22.The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20 wherein the programinginstruction of defining a data structure includes defining a datastructure for holding information that includes the number of times theimage for a given real-life object is to be repeated along, at least onespatial dimension at a location on the (graphics form, so as torepresent an arrangement of a collection of one type of real-lifeobjects at a location on the -graphics form.
 23. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 22 wherein the programming instruction ofdefining a data structure includes defining a data structure where thenumber of times the image is repeated is given in height and width so asto represent a stacked collection of real-life objects.